1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connector technology and more particularly, to such an electrical connector that allows installation of a cable in the top, bottom, left, right or rear side thereof selectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional network connectors (such as keystone jack) generally have the cable outlet horizontally arranged at the rear side. When a network connector of this design is mounted at a panel and electrically connected to an internal circuit in an electrical box at the panel, the length of the network connector may occupy the whole area between the panel and the bottom side of the electrical box.
If the cable must be inserted into the electrical box from the left or right side, the user needs to curve the cable through 90° angle and then electrically connect the cable to the electrical connector. However, when the cable is curved through 90° angle, it has zero radius of curvature. Based on the transmission-line theory for electromagnetic waves, reducing the radius of curvature of the conductor will relatively lower the rate of electromagnetic transmission, and will likely cause scattering of electromagnetic waves. A network cable generally comprises 8 pcs of core wires arranged in four twisted pairs. If a network cable is curved through 90° angle, every core wire of the network cable can cause scattering of electromagnetic waves, increasing the risk of magnetic interference between the core wires and deterioration of the transmission characteristics of the network cable.
To prevent the aforesaid problems, network connectors with lateral cable outlet design are created, preventing curving of the installed cable.
However, these network connectors also have their also disadvantages while providing benefits. For example, if two network connectors with same direction of lateral cable outlet are arranged in parallel, one network connector will interfere with the lateral cable outlet of the other network connector; if two network connectors having reversed lateral cable outlets are arranged in a line, one of two cables that are arranged at one lateral side relative to the two network connectors can be directly inserted through the lateral cable outlet of one network connector and electrically connected to the respective network connector, however, the other cable must be curved through 180° angle and then inserted into the lateral cable outlet of the other network connector.
Further, the aforesaid prior art network connectors for lateral cable installation are designed for installation in a panel and an electrical box, not suitable for computer or machine room application. Therefore, the aforesaid prior art network connectors have a limited range of applications.
3M company's U.S. Pat. No. 7,967,642 discloses a network connector, entitled “Connector in the field of telecommunications”. According to this design, the connector in the field of telecommunications comprises: a housing having a rectangular opening on one side unto which a complementary connector can be inserted, a plurality of contacts with which wires are connectable inside the connector, and a guide piece connected to the connector opposite the side where the complementary connector is inserted, the guide piece having three wire openings disposed on an outside surface of the guide piece and exposed on an outside of the connector distal from the contacts, wherein the wire openings are oriented in different directions wherein the housing is provided with at least one pivoted drive piece adapted to drive the guide piece towards the contacts. Further, the at least three wire openings are oriented in different radial directions from a center region of the connector. Further, the drive piece is a pivotable flap having at least one projection adapted to drive the guide piece when the flap is pivoted.
3M company's U.S. Pat. No. 8,376,779 discloses another design of network connector in the field of telecommunications that comprises: a housing, a plurality of contacts disposed within the housing and with which wires are connectable inside the connector, a guide piece having a plurality of wire openings disposed on the rear side of the housing, and a connector shielding attached to a rear side of a connector having an entry portion aligned with one of the wire openings in the guide piece and an extension mounted over said entry portion that is connectable with a cable shielding of a cable. Further, the connector has at least three wire openings. Further, each wire opening is adapted to accommodate at least two wires and exposed on an outside of the connector distal from the contacts. Further, the wire openings are exposed in at least three different directions.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,967,642 discloses three wire openings located at the rear side of the connector at different elevations and oriented in different directions.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 8,376,779 discloses at least three wire openings, and a connector shielding providing an electromagnetic wave shielding effect.
The aforesaid US patents improve the drawbacks of conventional network connectors and prevent curving of the installed cable. However, the network connectors in the field of telecommunications of the aforesaid 3M's US patents simply provide three wire openings oriented in three directions (upper, middle, and lower), not suitable for use with an electrical box that simply allows installation of the cable from the left or right side. Therefore, an improvement in this regard is desired.